Elastic fluid power plant



Sept. 1 1942. L R. STROEHLEN 2,294,700

' ELASTIC FLUID POWER PLANT File d Sept. 9, 1940 In ventorz 7 RichardStroehien,

by WW6.

His Atborn ey.

Patented Sept. 1, 1942 Richard stroehlen, Berlin, G

General Electric Company, a corporation of New YorkApplicationsepteniber 9, 1940, Serial No.

- In Germany October 13, 1939 1 Claim. (01. -49)' astlc mud The presentinvention relates to e1 power plants, more particularly to the kind of.plants which include a pressure combustion boiler for producing steamor like elastic fluid to be conducted to a steam or elastic fluidturbine and a gas turbine for receiving combustion gases from the boilerand for operating a compressor to furnish the necessary air formaintaining high pressure combustion in the combustion chamber of theboiler. 4

In an arrangement of this kind the combustion gases flow through thecombustion chamber at high velocity. Thus the first pressure drop of thecombustion gases is utilized to force them through the combustionchamber and the second pressure drop of the combustion gases is utilizedin a gas turbine. In order to utilize to the fullest extent theavailable energy in the combustion gases it is cooled to a lowtemperature in the heat cycle of the plant. Heretofore it has beencustomary to this end to provide a feed water preheater for preheatingthe feed water to a high temperature,

.in some instances to the boiling point. Nowadays in normal boilerarrangements it is customary to provide air preheaters for cooling gasesdischarged from the gas turbine.

The object of my invention is to provide an heating element ermany,alslgnorto conduit II to the burner l2. Steam produced in the boiler isconducted through a conduit II to a steam turbine l8 discharging into acondenser I 9 and arranged to drive an electric generator 20. Thecombustion gases which pass along the II with considerable velocity areconducted through a conduit 2! to a gas turbine 22 in thepresentinstance arranged to drive the aforementioned compressor I 4. Thecondensate discharged from the condenser I9 is returned as feed water tothe heating element ll of the boiler through a feed water preheating Aarrangement.

necessary that the gases are.

improved arrangement of combined steam orelastic fluid and pressurecombustion flring of the kind above specified whereby great economy andefiiciency of the plant are attained. in accordance with my inventionbythe provision of a preheater arrangement for feed water, or likeoperating fluid whereby feed water preheating is eirected first bycooling of the compressed combustion air or the gases discharged fromthe gas turbine or both and thereafter by means of extraction 0 For abetter understanding of what I believe to be novel and my invention,attention is directed to the following description and .the claimappended thereto in connection with the accompanying drawing.

The single figure of the drawing shows a power plant embodying my.invention.

The arrangement bustion boiler iii having an element il ducing elasticfluid such as steam and IE to which fuel is conducted by means of, afuel pump i3. Air to maintain combustion in the combustion chamber ofthe boiler is compressed by means of a and a discharge for proconnectedby means including a gas turbine power plants with 0 This isaccomplished.

r live steam or elastic fluid. 0

prises a pressure com-.'

a burner 50 21 through a conduit 32.

compressor is with an inlet l5' Generally the feedwater preheatingarrangement includes means for cooling the aircompressor or compressormember and a surface type heat exchanging member connected to thedischarge of the gas turbine as well as devices or apparatus forpreheating the feed water by means of extraction ing' to my invention,as pointed out above, the condensate discharged from the condenser ispreheated by flrst passing it through at least one of said members andthereafter through said apparatus.

In the present example the condensate is discharged i'rom the condenserid through a conduit 23 and forced by a condensate pump 24 into a Jacket25 surrounding or enclosing the air compressor M. In this manner theheat energy produced during the compression in the compressor is partlytransferred to the condensate or feed water, thus. improving theefliciency of the compressor. The feed water is then successively passedthrough three preheating devices or apparatus 26, 21 and 28 connected inseries behind the jacket 25 as regards the direction of flow of feedwater. The preheating devices 26, 21 are surface type heat exchangersconnected to receive extraction steam from lower and intermediate stagesrespectively of the turbine through conduits 29 and 30 respectively. Thepreheating device 28 is a mixing type preheater connected to receiveheating fluid from a higher turbine stage through an extraction conduit3|.

This fluid is mixed with the preheated feed water received from thepreheater 21 as well as with the condensate received from preheaters 26and The feed water is discharged from the mixing heater 28 through aconduit 33 and forced by means of a feed water or circulating pump atthrough another surface type preheater 35 into the heating element It.

The surface type preheater 35 is connected by steam from the turbine.Accord-.

- are passed through another preheater 31 located in the conduit 16 forconducting combustion'air trom the compressor to the burner l2 wherebyavailable heat energy of the combustion gases discharged from the heater35 is transferred to the combustion air in the heater 31. with thisarrangement the compressor for furnishing combustion air may be operatedat high efliciency and the gases discharged from the gas turbine arecooled to a minimum temperature or, from another viewpoint, theavailable energy in the gases discharged from the gas turbine isutilized to the fullest extent.

Having described the method of operation of my invention, together withthe apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodi-, mentthereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is onlyillustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.25

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

Power plant comprising a pressure combustion boiler having a heatingelement, means including a compressor for supplying air to the boiler tomaintain combustion therein, an elastic fluid extraction turbine with acondenser connected to the heatingelement, a gas turbine for receivingcombustion gases from the boiler, a feed water preheating arrangementincluding first, second and third devices connected in series betweenthe condenser and the element, the first device being arranged in heatexchange relation with the compressor to receive heat of compressiontherefrom, the second device being 0011-,

nected to receive preheated feed water from the first device and heatingfluid from the turbine and the third device being connected to receivepreheated feed water from the second device and combustion gases fromthe gas turbine, and a surface type heat exchanger connected to receivecompressed air from the compressor and combustion gases discharged fromthe third device.

RICHARD STROEHLEN.

